A Journey of Self-Discovery and Spirituality
by Kingshamu7
Summary: When Reimu goes missing, Marisa takes it upon herself to find her friend and save her. But along the way, she must come to terms with her own identity as a magician and the youkai that play a role in her life.
1. Chapter 1: An Unwelcome Visitor

_FYI: Italics indicate character thought_

Chapter 1: An Unwelcome Visitor

It was a cheerful morning in Gensokyo, and the Hakurei shrine maiden was lazing off as always, gazing across the human village across from her house. Sipping her tea, she sighed and enjoyed the peaceful morning. Until Marisa arrived, that is.

"Hey, Reimu! It's a nice day today, isn't it?" the black-white shouted, zooming towards the shrine with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh, it's you again," Reimu said indifferently, still looking at the serene scene that lay before her.

"I thought you'd be up, so I came to visit you! Any ideas on what we're gonna do today?" Reimu responded by casually sipping her tea.

"Aw, cmon! There's nothing to do! You wanna go harass some fairies?"

Reimu set down her tea and said: "Don't you think that's a bit strange? Like the lack of things to do. It's been so long without an incident; all the youkai are behaving themselves, nothing's happened in the human village… Doesn't it feel a little strange?"

Marisa thought about it, then said: "Yeah, but that's all fine with me… You don't need to get tangled up in these thoughts… Just enjoy today, okay?" "I guess," the miko responded, stretching.

Flying towards the village, Reimu found the neighboring forest eerily quiet, completely devoid of movement and sound. _Stop, she told herself. Just relax and enjoy the day with Marisa. This doesn't have to occupy your mind._ "Hey!" Marisa shouted. "Come back!"

In her thoughtlessness, Reimu had accidentally overflown and was now headed towards the youkai mountain. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something," Reimu replied. "What do you have in mind?" "Well, we could…" Marisa trailed off.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting boom echoed across the sky. "What was that?" Reimu wondered aloud. "I don't know, but it seemed to have come from that direction." Marisa pointed towards the mansion across the lake, which now had smoke leaking from its windows.

"Think we should investigate it?" And with those words, the two quickly hurried over to the mansion and inspected the rubble, finding a very dazed Patchouli buried under several planks of wood. "Now, what happened here?" Marisa asked the magician. "Umm… I was testing out a new combination of elemental spells, but apparently I wasn't able to control the power and it sort of blasted a hole in the mansion," Patchouli coughed out. "Remilia's going to be pissed when she finds out about it."

"Well, I'll lend a hand… if you let me take out some 'loans'... on your books." Marisa said slyly. "Fine," grumbled Patchouli. "But I get say on which books you 'borrow' from me." "Okay then, it's a deal! Reimu, why don't you help me put this wall back where it belongs?" The miko grudgingly helped Marisa fix the broken wall, and with the two of them, the project was completed before noon.

Marisa mopped her brow with a handkerchief. "That was intensive, but I got these sweet new books to read! You wanna come over and relax?" Reimu said in response: "Only if there's refreshments… I basically did all the work! You're definitely going to pay me back for that."

As they arrived in the forest, Marisa started to pick mushrooms out of the ground and wrap them in cloths that she had pulled out of her pocket. "What are you going to do with those?" Reimu said, glancing over at the myriad of colors peeking out from the cloth bundle. "Oh, I'm going to try something new as well," Marisa winked. The miko responded: "Please don't make me fix your house if you blow it up though… I'm done with building work."

"Aw, don't talk like that… I'll be extra careful." At Marisa's house, the two of them made tea and enjoyed cookies as they sat out on the porch of Marisa's house. "There's been something I've want to ask you, Marisa." The witch nodded. "What's been troubling you?" she asked.

"Well, I guess it's about the lack of incidents lately. And especially the lack of news coming from the youkai… they no longer show up, and except for what happened this morning, everything has been peaceful." "Well," Marisa replied, "I guess that has been true… I don't see any fairies around my house, and Alice seems to be rather quiet nowadays."

As if on cue, the seven-colored puppeteer burst through the brush, glancing around frantically. Marisa quickly ran over to her friend. "Hey, what happened? Calm down and tell us what happened." Alice, after several minutes of shaking uncontrollably, said: "There's been something lurking in the woods recently, and whenever I go out, I feel it following me. But, for some reason, it always evaded my sight or my dolls' attacks. Today I was harvesting plant fibers to replace one of my worn out ropes for my dolls, when suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder out of nowhere. I spun around, but there was nothing. It was then that something heavy hit me in the back, and I was knocked off my feet. I couldn't find anything to attack, and the danmaku I fired just cut through the empty air. A strong hand tried to grab my neck, but I slipped free and ran here."

"My, that's an impressive story," remarked Reimu. Are you sure you haven't been eating mushrooms?" Alice shook her head. "I'm sure I wasn't hallucinating, but it happened all so fast…" "I'll be sure to look into this," said Reimu. "Finally, something to work on…" Marisa, as always, muttered to herself: "I'll beat you to the chase this time, Reimu." After several more hours of questioning, Alice returned to her home with a reassured feeling that she didn't have before. Marisa asked inquisitively if she could stay at Reimu's house for the night, so they could watch each other's backs. Reimu relented, saying only if the witch didn't consume all her snacks.

"Aw, don't worry, I just ate." The witch teased as they walked towards the shrine up on the hill. That night, the two of them curled up on their futons and rested, eager to begin solving the incident on the next day. As the two of them lay staring up at the ceiling, Marisa quickly drifted off, snoring quite loudly. Reimu, as a result of this, couldn't sleep, and twisted and turned, unable to find a comfortable position.

After several hours, Reimu was finally able to rest, but as soon as she closed her eyes, a loud knocking came on the door. _I wonder who that could be at this time, Reimu thought. Unless it's an urgent incident… I'll take care of this one, Reimu thought to herself as she glanced at the still-sleeping Marisa._ The Hakurei shrine maiden quickly donned her outfit and walked to the door with yin-yang orbs in hand, just as a safety precaution. She peeked out the crack of the door, but there was no moon, and thee outside was pitch black. She lit up an orb and pushed it outside before stepping out. There was no one there. _Perhaps it was the wind, she thought, but there was not even a simple breeze tonight._ She shrugged her shoulders and turned to go inside when she felt a strong force knock her yin-yang orbs out of her hand. She turned to summon them back to her, but a seemingly invisible force knocked her to the ground. She was too dazed to try and fly, but in the end it didn't matter. Ropes of some sort wrapped around her hands in an instant, and a heavy weight smashed into her back, forcing her to the ground. She tried to cry for Marisa, but her mouth was silenced by a thick cloth with a distinctly chemical smell to it. Reimu's head spun, but she managed to collect her thoughts and tried to resist the pungent odor. Suddenly, she felt a sharp jab in her neck, and everything descended into darkness. As she looked at her captor, who was shrouded in darkness, Reimu's last thoughts were: _I hope they find me…_ Then the shrine maiden blacked out.

Hello there! I hope you've enjoyed my story so far! Please do leave reviews, and I don't really care what type of reviews they are, as long as they are related to the story. If you want to rant about how bad my story is, I don't really care as long as I can receive feedback from you guys. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: A Missing Miko

Chapter 2: A Missing Miko

Marisa woke up to a chilling gust of air and an empty shrine. She thought that Reimu had started the search for the perpetrator without her, but when she found an empty futon, an open door, and Reimu's yin-yang orbs scattered on the scuffled grass, the magician knew something was up. She quickly embarked on a personal mission to find Reimu and determine just exactly what was going on. _I hope she's fine… I wonder what happened? _Marisa thought as she flew around the area, searching for any signs that would be left in the grass. However, she was completely dumbfounded.

"Surely there must be some signs around," Marisa muttered to herself. Finally, a certain patch of grass caught her eye. The grass was overturned, leading toward the forest of magic. Marisa quickly headed in that direction, careful to not miss any other clues. Strangely, this path led her directly the to the puppeteer's house. She quickly landed and knocked on the wooden door of the small house.

"Why hello, Marisa," Alice said, rubbing her eyes. "What brings you here today?" With her voice trembling, Marisa asked Alice if she had seen any signs of Reimu lately. "Well, I haven't seen her since yesterday. What's the matter?" Marisa quickly explained the situation, which left a sobbing Marisa and a very shocked Alice behind. "Well, I'm sure I can help. This is a very extreme situation," Alice said grimly, standing up and summoning several of her dolls into existence. "Who knows who the one responsible will target next…" As she said this, Alice's voice died.

"What's the matter?" Marisa asked. Slowly but surely, Marisa connected the events of the previous day with the current incident. She quickly embraced her friend, vowing to never leave her. Alice and Marisa stayed in that position for several minutes, dreading what might happen if they left each other. "From now on, we'll stick together. We'll find Reimu as well and bring this horrible person to justice." vowed the two of them. Then, with their newfound bond, the two began their search for the missing miko. The pair wandered through the forest, coercing fairies and other creatures to tell anything about the missing Reimu. However, it was getting late, and they had still to find a single lead. "Man, this guy was good," said Marisa, exasperated at the lack of information they had gotten that day. "We've asked all the youkai and fairies in the forest and we still have no lead on this incident."

"Well, should we tell the others? It could cause an outrage, but at least they will try and find Reimu too," reasoned Alice. "I don't think that's the best way to approach this. The humans will immediately suspect youkai and will hurry to find a new shrine maiden to exterminate all the youkai, no questions asked. Instead, we should tell a select few that can help us but will not cause such an uproar."

"Okay then," said Alice. "Who should we recruit?" Marisa smiled. "I have a friend…" Several minutes later, Marisa stood at the doorstep of the Scarlet Devil Mansion with a large duffel bag.

"What's that for?" Alice asked. "Bargaining material" was the response. Marisa knocked on the door. She was greeted by the head maid, Sakuya, but was less than pleased to see them. "What are you two doing lurking around at this time? Shouldn't you be at home or something?"

"Well, there's been an incident… It's best if we can talk inside." Sakuya tilted her head and cautiously let them in. "You'd better make this quick. What is it? Shouldn't Reimu take care of this?" "You see, that's the problem," Marisa replied, scratching her head. "Reimu's been abducted, and we need you and Patchouli to help us find her." Sakuya started pacing around the room. "Reimu's missing? I wonder what happened to her… I hope she's okay…" Alice chose this time to interject. "We've already searched and interrogated the entire forest, and we have no clues. We need to keep this to as few people as possible as well, too."

"Okay," Sakuya agreed. "I guess waking Lady Patchouli up is justified then. Follow me." The trio wandered through the endless tunnels and spacious caverns, twisting and turning until they arrived at a huge set of polished wooden doors. "Wait here," the maid said as she peeked inside the huge library. Lying on top of an open book, dozing away, was Patchouli. Sakuya cautiously approached the sleeping magician and shook her back gently. "Lady Patchouli, you have visitors." The purple haired spellcaster shook her head and mumbled half-consciously: "What? Visitors? Now? Tell them to go and see me tomorrow…"

"Lady Patchouli, there's been an incident. Reimu has gone missing." With that, the magician sat up, shocked. "How did this happen? Bring the visitors in here…" Sakuya gave a signal, and Marisa and Alice stumbled into the huge library, stepping over piles of books and overturned papers. As soon as the doors were shut, Marisa hurried over to Patchouli and gave her the huge bag of books. "I'm really, really sorry that I took these books, and I would like to return them to you… Just please help us find Reimu, okay?" The stammering witch, now on the verge of tears, collapsed on the magician, repeating about how sorry she was for stealing and begging her for her help. Patchouli gently lifted the witch off of her.

"It's okay, Marisa. We'll find Reimu together, okay?" A teary Marisa nodded, as the truth of what had happened now fully hit her. Now she poured out all her emotions and regrets to her surrounding friends. "It was so quick, ya know? And I didn't even say anything… I just went to sleep and assumed she would be there in the morning… She was one of my closest friends… I remember all the memories we had together… But now it's all gone…" Alice and Patchouli comforted the witch silently, as they too, recounted their memories of the red and white miko. Sakuya, tearing up as well, stood silently and wiped her tears with a handkerchief, mourning the loss of one of her two human companions. Eventually, Sakuya gathered the others into a small huddle.

"Listen. Reimu's somewhere out there. Maybe she's gone, but we don't know. Let's hold on to that hope that we have. Let's set our eyes on the goal and work toward it. There's still hope. Let's not lose it." After this had happened, the four girls agreed to never lose sight of their friend. It would be a new beginning for them, and a new day would start with their newfound motivation for their friend.

Hello again! I hope my writing has been okay so far... But since you came back to read the second chapter, do you mind dropping a review? Anything is appreciated. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3: Discoveries of All Kinds

Chapter 3: External and Internal Discoveries

_NOTE: This chapter is split into two parts, the first is Reimu's situation, and the second is the search of the girls._

Reimu was in a tough situation. Very tough indeed. Since her awakening, Reimu had found herself tied to a chair, with no weapons in reach and a bright light shining in her face. The ropes binding her to her temporary prison were tight, and there seemed to be no hope of escape for now. She still felt woozy from some drugs, and felt the air to be especially damp. _I wonder if I'm underground…_ Reimu anxiously awaited the identity of her captor. As she listened to the distant shuffling, she reflected on what could have caused this predicament. Several thoughts ran through her head. _I haven't done anything to demand retribution from anybody, she thought. Why would they do this? They have nothing to gain from me… Unless it's about the barrier. _Reimu was suddenly struck with a pang of fear, frantically jerking at the bindings, struggling to slip free. Then a voice rang from the darkness: "Ah, I see you have waken up. Now we can begin."

As the miko tried to recognize the familiar voice, her captor stepped into the light. Yukari Yakumo. The miko shut her eyes, wishing it to be a dream. Her thrashing became more violent as she tried to get away from the gap youkai. "Relax, Reimu. It's just the two of us," said the sweet voice. Yukari caressed the shaking miko's cheek. "I'll explain everything to you." "N-No… Please… J-Just get away from m-me…" _Reimu had a violent storm of emotions inside. Yukari was a complicated situation. She joked around with the miko, but Reimu had never imagined that she would kidnap her either. _"W-Why are you doing this?" Yukari smiled. "Now that you've calmed down, we can talk." The gap youkai settled into a chair facing Reimu.

"I have a purpose for all of this. As you well know, we are both in charge of the barrier between Gensokyo and the outside world. In order to continue, you must have a child for the Hakurei line to continue protecting the barrier. However, this is where it gets complicated. I had noticed that you are infertile. Therefore, this is the end of your family line. As such, I have taken it upon myself to maintain the barrier, until I find a proper replacement for you. So, my plan is to transfer your power over the barrier to myself, where I will keep the boundary safe and maintain it." Reimu, overwhelmed at the information, began to sob. Inside, she said goodbye to her hopes of seeing a young Hakurei maiden who would keep her tradition. Her future dreams were crushed in an instant. Reimu lost her will to fight and slumped against the chair, all thoughts blurred together into a giant soupy mess. Yukari glanced at the crying miko, turning away from her glistening tears. _She would have to wait awhile for her plan to work._

Marisa jolted awake, shocked by her vivid dream. No, more like nightmare. Marisa trembled at what she just imagined and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to forget about that horrid scene. _She stumbled into an abandoned house. There was blood on the walls and burnt lumps of wood where there were once doors. She stepped deeper into the building. A fresh scent of smoke wafted out of the basement. She peeked inside and saw a bloodied Reimu, lying limply against the wall. As she hurried over to her friend, who had gashes all over her body, Reimu whispered some faint words to her friend, urging her to get out, to flee. Marisa was oblivious to the incoming danger, kneeling over her friend's body as a dark figure wrenched Marisa away. She fought and kicked, but was overpowered by the dark figure, who dragged her away from Reimu's dying body, unable to do anything but watch. _Marisa shuddered. _It was just a dream, she told herself. Reimu's still alive, and we'll find her._ Alice watched blankly, standing near the doorway.

"Are you okay? It seemed like you were having a seizure of some sort while you were sleeping. No bad dreams?" "N-No, I'm fine. Maybe just flopped around during my sleep." "Um, in that case, you should get up. Sakuya's got our first lead." Marisa, upon hearing the news, quickly got in her usual attire and darted downstairs. They now had their first clue. Downstairs, the other three were eating breakfast, having woken up early to begin the search. Sakuya cleared her throat. "So, I think I have our first clue. I asked Remilia if she had seen or heard anything near the shrine on the day that Reimu was abducted. She said that there was some knocking and later, a whooshing sound, but other than that, nothing."

Patchouli set down her book. "I think this might have something to do with the tengu. If we can ask them to help us while not spreading it around in their newspaper, I think it would help us a lot." The group nodded and began packing for the trip up the youkai mountain. Patchouli and Sakuya remained at the mansion while Marisa and Alice flew up the steep mountain. "Whoa, it's getting gusty," Alice observed as she clung onto the broom. "Could the tengu not want us in their business right now?" "I'm sure they'll make an exception for this," said Marisa, gritting her teeth as the winds became more and more violent.

At last, the two made it to the top of the youkai mountain, where the tengu lived. The first to greet them was none other than Aya Shameimaru, the resident newspaper reporter. "Well, what brings you up here on this lovely morning?" the tengu asked. Marisa quickly cut to the chase. "Listen, have you seen or heard anything about Reimu recently?" "Well, there was some commotion during the night a couple days ago, but other than that, nothing. Is there something wrong with Reimu?" The puppeteer responded before Marisa could give a reply. "No, Reimu's fine. We just were investigating that commotion. Could you tell us about it?"

The tengu launched into a personal story about how she was on her nightly stroll, flying around in search for inspiration for her next issue of the Bunbunmaru. There was a sound of whacking and ruffling of leaves near the shrine, so she quickly sped over to investigate. When she got there, however, the culprit was gone and left nothing but an emptied syringe. Thinking it to be a starter piece, she pocketed the needle and flew back home. "Could we please have this back? It belongs to a friend," Alice lied. "Well, I guess so… If you promise to purchase my next issue." Marisa halfheartedly agreed. It was a small price to pay, but the newspaper had little to no information at all. She probably would repurpose it to a better use at a later time. After the deal was made, Alice and Marisa quickly returned to the mansion, ready to inspect the element. A few minutes later, Patchouli was examining the specimen.

"It seems to be of the outside world, as a device like this could only be found in Eientei for medical purposes. Since it is empty, I have no way of knowing what was contained inside, but I'll assume it was the perpetrator's." Alice gasped. "Only a few have access to the outside world… No way…" Marisa eventually connected the dots, and covered her mouth. _Why would Yukari do such a thing? _Her thoughts were cut short, however, when Sakuya announced a visitor. Marisa quickly reached for her mini-Hakkero in case it was the gap youkai. But it wasn't. Outside stood a nine-tailed fox and a small nekomata, both covered with soot and dirt. Sakuya opened the door. "What are you two doing here?"

Ran, the fox youkai, coughed. "Part of our home burned down, and we need a place to stay. Chen has dust stuck in her lungs and I need to treat her somewhere safe." "What about Yukari?" the head maid asked. "Doesn't she usually take care of you?" "Well, you see, that's the problem."

Hello, Hello. I hope you enjoyed the reveal! Don't worry, there's still lots more to come. As always, please leave a review. It really encourages me with the feedback that I get.


	4. Chapter 4: The Troubled Shikigami

Chapter 4: The Troubled Shikigami

Ran coughed. "Yukari has gone missing. She disappeared in the middle of the night a couple days ago and hasn't returned since. I can't sense her presence anywhere in Gensokyo, and it's starting to worry me." Marisa turned away, having overheard the conversation. _So Yukari was a victim too? What does the kidnapper want to do? _Marisa thought about it for a few minutes, and then came up with the answer.

She whispered to Alice: "I've figured it out. The one causing the incident is trying to weaken the Gensokyo barrier. Since Reimu and Yukari both have control over the border, it would make sense for the perpetrator to kidnap both of them." Alice considered this new proposal and nodded. "I think this all makes sense, but there is one problem. How strong would they have to be to take out both of them?"

"Probably extremely powerful. We have to be vigilant and find this villain before they succeed." After explaining her thoughts to Patchouli and Sakuya, the four of them let the two tired shikigami in and cared for them. After their guests had rested and bathed, Alice, Marisa, Patchouli, and Sakuya started questioning the two youkai on the disappearance of Yukari.

"So when did Yukari disappear?" Patchouli asked. "Well, it was around two nights ago, if I remember correctly. I went to sleep in the room next to Yukari's, and when I woke up, she was gone." "That's around the same time Reimu disappeared," Alice remarked. "Could this be so that the villain would not have to face the other, as they would be on guard?" "Maybe," Ran replied. "There was evidence of a struggle, which I know because Yukari's bed wasn't made and there were sheets on the ground. I remember collapsing on my knees after I had found one of Yukari's hair ribbons lying about. I could sense the grief and struggle my master faced in that room."

The four were thoroughly convinced. "Could it be all part of a plan to destroy the barrier?" Sakuya asked. "I think it's unlikely, but the evidence does point towards this being the master plan." Patchouli responded. Ran nodded. "I know my master Yukari has great control over that barrier. If one were to weaken Yukari and Reimu enough, someone could destroy the barrier completely." It was a ghastly thought, the thought of having no barrier to separate Gensokyo from the outside world. Marisa slammed the table in frustration. "If we don't know the perpetrator, this event could happen very soon! We need to get to work finding leads and clues, and…" Marisa broke down again. "I-It's just frightening, ya know? If only I had…" Marisa calmed herself and sighed. There had to be a way to solve this. After the questioning, Ran took her own shikigami, Chen the nekomata, to bed. Sakuya noticed and directed Marisa and Alice. "You two should go to sleep as well. It's going to be a tedious day tomorrow, you know?"

Alice nodded. "Thank you." Alice dragged a thoughtful Marisa to bed. "Just sleep, okay? We'll have the day tomorrow to search for Reimu. Relax. Good night." But as Alice quickly dozed off, tired by the events of the day, Marisa stayed wide awake, fantasizing about the search and dreading what her dreams might bring. Finally, she gave in to exhaustion, hoping for a successful day of searching tomorrow.

That night, Marisa had a dream where she was unable to move, watching the barrier between the outside world and Gensokyo collapse while seeing her dead friends laid on the ground before her. Something moved behind her, but as she turned, she found a knife through her chest, piercing from behind. "Why don't you go join your friends?" A sweet voice crooned. It was then that the young magician woke up. It was the dead of night, and there were crickets chirping in the background. Marisa calmed her heartrate. _Calm down, it was just a dream… But the pain… It felt so real… _She shook her head, dizzy at the sudden awakening. Some winds blew outside, and Marisa suddenly felt unsafe. She decided to crawl closer to Alice, who was sleeping nearby. Laying her head on the puppeteer, the gentle heartbeats slowly lulled Marisa back to sleep. When Marisa woke up, it was to a confused, drowsy Alice who asked how Marisa had crawled into her futon with her. Marisa, now blushing furiously, quickly evaded the question and ran into Patchouli, who was ascending the stairs to their room.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Patchouli asked. Marisa quickly pushed past the librarian. "Hmm, must be anxious to find Reimu, I guess." At breakfast, the trio continued asking Ran about the disappearance of Yukari. Ran, now pondering the whereabouts of her master, suggested a search of the Yakumo house. "Maybe we could find a clue there," she said. Patchouli then insisted on going, for the possibility of a lead was too great to pass on. Upon arrival at the house, Ran showed them around the premises. But when Ran approached Yukari's door, she knelt down and wept, motioning for the trio to proceed.

As Marisa, Alice, and Patchouli pushed past the remains of tables and torn ribbons on the ground, something caught Alice's eye. "Hey, look over there. I think I see something under the bed." Marisa bent down and picked up the specimen. It was a picture of Reimu and Yukari together, smiling in front of a night-time Gensokyo. The three magicians gathered around the picture. "I never knew about this relationship," Alice commented. Marisa, studying the picture intently, agreed. Patchouli however, quickly found something else of interest. She held up another emptied syringe, found near the doorway. "I think this might be our clue," Patchouli said. "This provides solid evidence that the one who committed these acts has access to the outside world. That greatly limits our suspects."

Marisa nodded. "I'm already thinking…" Alice pointed out, however, that they had no way of travelling to the outside world. "That might limit us, but I'm sure the perpetrator is still in Gensokyo. After all, the barrier hasn't weakened yet," Marisa explained. Suddenly, Patchouli turned. "There's something outside." All fell silent as several scratching noises could be heard against the wall. Alice and Marisa gazed intently at the wall, completely oblivious to the struggling Patchouli behind them. Alice finally noticed and got Marisa to quickly attack the dark figure dragging an unconscious Patchouli along. The dark figure seemingly vanished, but the two were much more preoccupied with reviving the dazed magician. "What happened?" asked Marisa.

"Ugh… Some freak tried to kidnap me… There was this really strange cloth that they had… It smelled like a chemical." Alice linked the pieces of information. "I think that might be the culprit. If we chase now, we could find who it is!" Marisa quickly agreed and took the others on her broom, quickly racing in the direction the figure had gone.

Hello there! Thanks for reading chapter 4 of this story! Don't be afraid to leave a review or comment on anything! And as always, huge thanks for supporting me!


	5. Chapter 5: Realism and Spirituality

Chapter 5: The Border Between Realism and Spirituality

_NOTE: This chapter starts a little before the end of the previous one._

Yukari smiled. Everything was going according to plan, especially with the faked kidnapping of herself in order to delude the others. After deceiving Reimu with her lies, she had finally acquired all the materials for the power transfer to take place. She hated lying to the miko, as Reimu was a nice friend, but one of the conditions for the ritual was that the power be given willingly. Finally, her scheme was at its climax. _This will surely establish the isolation of Gensokyo completely, she told herself._ It had come to her attention that humans were fragile, and that the Great Hakurei Barrier best be kept to an undying person, herself. As she finished the final preparations, Reimu asked a question. "Will this really work?" Yukari laughed. "Of course it will, my dear. After it's done, I'll even allow you to walk out freely. After all, it's all for the good of Gensokyo, anyway."

Reimu nervously gulped. "Okay." Yukari proceeded to pull out several musty tomes and beginning the chant, drawing symbols around the miko and herself. The chamber glowed with the power that was about to be transferred, and the walls shook as the final words were spoken. The raw energy emanated from both of their bodies, hovering in the air between them. As the transfer of power occurred, Yukari's spirit shined as Reimu's dulled on the plane of existence. Through the forbidden ritual, the whole of Gensokyo shook, buildings collapsed, rifts opened in the earth and everything was tainted with a faint purple glow. As the ceremony finished, the miko collapsed on the ground, now weak from the spirit tap. Yukari, on the other hand, was exploiting the limits of her newfound power, essentially granting her omnipotence through the combined power. A guttural roar echoed through the chamber as she fully grasped the power.

Marisa stopped. There was a horrific scene that made her forget about the culprit that she was pursuing. The whole of Gensokyo was toppled, with buildings toppled and pillars askew. In the countryside, massive ravines had spontaneously erupted, ruining the once smooth landscape. "I don't think this was here before," commented Marisa. Alice gazed in awe. "I think we have a larger problem at hand here." "Hey, look at this," Patchouli said. "Do you see a purple glow across the land? Assuming it's a spirit incident, this has something to do with Yukari." Alice was rather quizzical. "What do you mean by 'spirit incident'?" "Everyone has a spirit, a form of their pure existence on a certain planar level. As you perceive spirits, they take on a certain color, based on the person." Marisa nodded. "If this is true, it might have something to do with our situation. We'd better get on this case." The three agreed and quickly set out searching for the culprit.

Ran, gazing out at the destruction, realized that her master had returned. She quickly got Chen and quickly took her things, hoping to find her. Using her instincts, she found Yukari among the remnants of their house, literally pulsing with power. Ran shook her master. "Yukari? Come on, please answer me…" Yukari shook her head and slowly woke up from her meditation. "Ran, I need you to help you do some things for me."

Meanwhile, the trio located what seemed to be a chamber for a ritual. Upon inspecting the runes inscribed all over the site, Patchouli's face became grim. "It's as I suspected. These markings all have to do with spirituality. We are currently facing an enemy more powerful than ever before." Alice then confirmed that the power level to carry out such a project singlehandedly without detection would require astronomical levels of power, limiting the suspects to a select few. Marisa, however, spotted the limp body of Reimu lying at the gigantic circle's center. She called to Alice and Patchouli and hurriedly rushed over to her friend, who was laid on the ground. Alice quickly performed a body check. "Her physical body is fine, but her spirit is lacking. She only has a splinter of soul left before she becomes a husk of herself." Patchouli pondered the circumstances as Marisa wept over her unresponsive companion. Suddenly the ground shook and a mystical field of energy formed around them, trapping the three with Reimu. Alice's face became serious. "We've been lured into a trap."

Yukari laughed outside. "Indeed you have." "You… What have you done to Reimu?!" Marisa shouted. "I simply absorbed part of her spirit, that's all. She'll be fine after a while." Yukari smiled. "Although I do have a use for you three… Food." Patchouli trembled. "I think she's going to absorb us as well to add to her power." "Then we'd better fight this out," said Alice. Yukari watched them talk as she prepared her spells. "Let's start with you, Alice." As Patchouli and Marisa watched Alice go into battle against Yukari, Patchouli noticed something and quickly began to talk to Marisa with a frantic voice. Meanwhile, the battle raging above was not going well. Alice had at least hoped to stall enough for Patchouli's plan to work, but it seemed as if they didn't have enough time. Yukari was substantially stronger, and not playing by the rules. Alice gritted her teeth as she dodged lasers coming from gaps that opened in front of her. _Guess I don't have to play fair as well, she thought._ Using forbidden doll magic, she was able to temporarily distract Yukari with the clones that she summoned, but Alice could tell that this wasn't going to go like this forever.

As she speculated about the battle, Alice was completely oblivious to the Yukari that had gapped behind her and was preparing a spell. Too late did she notice, and Yukari had the chance to ensnare Alice in chains to bring her to the ground. As she lay on the ground, her breath knocked out of her lungs, Yukari walked up behind her and leaned down beside her ear. "You've gotten soft," she crooned, before slamming a ball of pure energy into her back and knocking the magician unconscious. Patchouli and Marisa looked on as Yukari ripped Alice's spirit from her body before consuming it, causing Yukari to glow with the additional power. Patchouli shakily rose and spoke her final words to Marisa before ascending to face the gap youkai. As Marisa watched Yukari slowly gain the upper hand, she considered what the two magicians had told her. It was a huge decision that she had to make, and as she pondered the consequences of the action, she gazed at Reimu, and how her decision would affect the closest childhood friend she had. As Patchouli fell and Marisa rose, her decision was finally set. It was time for her to discover who she really was.

What's Marisa going to do? Thanks for reading this far into my story! Please leave reviews as well! They really help me with my story!


	6. Chapter 6: Mortality and Eternity

Chapter 6: Mortality and Eternality

Marisa was honest-to-hell scared. Reassured as she was by the two magicians' plan, there was an aura of uneasiness that surrounded her, as they did with all life-changing things. She mounted her broom and flew to face Yukari. "Well, you're my last opponent," chuckled Yukari. "Let's make this quick, shall we? After all, you're still mortal. Give me your spirit voluntarily and I won't kill you. I promise you'll recover from the spirit tap." Marisa became infuriated. "Just like you said Reimu would get better? Well, I'm not taking any chances with you." The gap youkai grinned behind her fan. "Then I won't kill you outright. I'll make you watch me kill Reimu. Then, as you see your friend dying, I'll kill you in the most painful way, all while you have to look your dying friend in the eyes." Yukari's sadistic eyes glowed. "Won't that be amazing?"

Marisa took one last look at Reimu before turning back to Yukari. _It might change my life forever, but it's the only way. Forgive me, Reimu. I've been a terrible friend. _Marisa wiped away some tears. "No, I won't let you ever harm my Reimu!" With that, she charged into battle. In the midst of dodging spells and casting her own, Marisa knew that unless she changed something, she would lose. Her mind was set. She had to become a full-fledged magician. Usually this would require months of preparation to learn the required spells, and with the shrine maiden as her acquaintance, she couldn't even attempt it, lest Reimu have to exterminate her. However, with a new mindset and some tips from the two magicians, there was another way she could accomplish this feat. By intentionally exposing the mortal parts of her spirit to the blasts Yukari fired, she could wipe away her mortality. With every hit taken to her spirit, Marisa felt as if a part of her had died. However, she kept on pushing. _Must…keep…going… she thought. For Gensokyo… and Reimu…_

After enough hits to her spirit had been taken, Marisa suddenly felt an unearthly flow of power fill her. And with her spirit rejuvenated, she began to push back. The boost in power had just given her enough to start overcoming Yukari. And when the chance arose, Marisa didn't hesitate. "Ultimate Spark!" she shouted. For a few seconds, there was a blinding beam light across the sky of Gensokyo. Marisa flew to the fallen body of Yukari, lying twisted in a giant crater. Marisa walked over to the gap youkai and aimed the mini-hakkero at her chest. "This isn't the end. Get up." The witch kicked the limp youkai onto her feet. "I want you to restore all my friends, now." A rather shocked Yukari quickly obliged. As Marisa wondered what was up with Yukari, she noticed that she was glowing a myriad of colors, which she identified as her spirit. But as she was distracted by her newfound powers she didn't notice that Yukari instead manipulated the boundary between scarcity and plenty to change the measure of Reimu, Patchouli, and Alice's spirits. However, they did revive and Yukari laid herself on the edge of the crater, worn out from the expense of power. Meanwhile, two magicians and a miko woke up to a Marisa with tears of joy in her eyes.

Reimu turned around. "Where are we? And what happened to you?" Marisa turned her head away. "I'll explain later." Meanwhile, Patchouli and Alice shared a hug with Marisa, commenting on her final transformation and congratulating her on unlocking her true potential. Meanwhile, Reimu was getting more and more confused as people started to gather around the crater and Patchouli and Alice talked about transformations and reveals. "What's the meaning of this?" She asked Marisa. "And why are you glowing?"

"Umm…" Marisa took Reimu's hands. "I have to tell you this, and I hope you can forgive me. I'm a full magician now. I had to do it to save Gensokyo… I know you have to exterminate me now, but I just wanted you to know that you've been a great friend." Marisa started to leave, but Reimu held on to her hands. "I know that you did what you had to do. I want to tell you something as well… Marisa." Reimu pulled Marisa in close, tears seeping out of her eyes. "I- I'll miss you." And they lay in that position for a while, with Reimu's head buried in Marisa's shoulder.

Yukari, however, had something to say. "Perhaps I can 'extend' your lifespan, Reimu. There are all sorts of things I can manipulate now, and I owe you one for what I put you through." Reimu hesitated, torn between her responsibilities as a shrine maiden and her love of her friends. She gave in to the latter. "I know I'm contradicting all standards I have set, but my love for my friends is too strong," She confessed. "I accept your offer." Reimu glanced happily at Marisa, now with the prospect of being reunited becoming a new hope for them. "That's completely unexpected, but that's awesome," commented Marisa, moving to embrace her friend. "Now we can be together forever."

As Yukari began the spell, Marisa looked forward to seeing Reimu everyday of her life from now on. The spell was finally finished after several minutes, and left a Reimu that glowed a soft red, the color of her spirit. Marisa rushed to the miko. "Reimu! We can be together forever now!" Reimu smiled. "Yes, we can."

That night, there was a drinking party at the Hakurei shrine to commemorate the day. "Just think about it," Alice said to Patchouli. "In just one day, so much has happened. I guess it is a cause for celebration." Patchouli agreed. "Let's go see what they're up to at the shrine."

At the shrine, there were youkai everywhere as usual, but this time, the atmosphere was particularly lively, spurred by that the fact that two life-changing decisions had been made that day. However, there was a corner of the room where the dull silence cut through the noise. A sobbing Yukari, comforted by Ran, was telling her story to Reimu and Marisa, explaining all her actions and the reasons behind them. Marisa and Reimu were shocked by the perfect reasoning and motivation for her actions. "I guess alcohol does tell all," remarked Marisa after she had heard the story.

Reimu sat next to the gap youkai. "I mean, you did get your power. You still have it, right?" Yukari half-heartedly nodded. "I just wanted to use the spiritual power to enhance Gensokyo. I thought that, if I had enough power, I could expand the borders of Gensokyo." Ran comforted her master. "It'll be fine. You'll find an opportunity where you won't be corrupted by power."

Marisa nodded. "I felt like the Yukari I faced wasn't your personality either." Marisa turned to Reimu. "Why did you accept Yukari's offer so quickly though? I thought you were strongly against villagers turning into youkai. What caused you to accept it? And especially from Yukari, who just drained you of your spirit?" Reimu took a sip of sake before continuing. "Well, when I first became friends with a lot of youkai, I always was jealous of them because of their everlasting lives. I especially envied the magicians because they didn't have to subsist on humans as food. But there was no way for me, a shrine maiden, to achieve this goal. So I established a rule saying that no villagers could become youkai. This was to help me ease my own sorrow. So when I received the opportunity, I put away past wrongs in the hope that I could live forever." Marisa smiled. "Well, now we'll get to be together forever." With the prospect of an enjoyable, eternal life emerging, the two curled up and fell asleep.

And that's the end! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I had fun writing it. I'll be posting another story linked to the events that happen afterwards and the aftermath. This will be a separate story though, so keep your eyes peeled. Thanks so much for reading!


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